Folding machine



March 5,1946. c. E. WYRICK FOLDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July20, 1942 all IIIIIIIWIIII March -5, 1946.- c. E. WYRICK FOLDING MACHINEFiled July 20. 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 -March 5, 1946. c, wy c 7 2,395,983

FOLDIN-G MACHINE Filed July 20, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 J'rwm CLRITON E. WYRICK,

4 TL 4 TL.

March 5, 1946. c. E. WYRICK FOLDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ill! llllN\lllllh llllllllll 1n Milli Filed July 20, 1942 um Jul. IIIIHI cLmroevZNVYRICK,

March 5,1946.

0. E. WY RICK FOLDING MACH INE Filed'July 20, 1942 v6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

CLAYTON awvmcn, BY

March 5, 1946. c. E. WYRICK FOLDING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed July20, 1942 cmvrou E. wvmc K,

Patented Mar. 5, 1946 FOLDING MACHINE Clayton E. Wyrick, Miami, Fla.,asslgnor to The n Egry Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio -Application July 20, 1942, Serial No. 451,649

4 Claims. (Cl. 270-39) This invention relates to a manifolding or acollating machine wherein a plurality of paper webs are assembled inadjacent relationship with the form faces printed upon the webs disposedin proper alignment with respect to one another so that the plurality ofwebs can be folded upon one another in an accordion fashion.

An object of the invention is to provide a manifolding or collatingmachine that is also adapted to fold the webs passing therethrough inaccordion fashion in a manner that the folded web stack can beperiodically removed from the machine without stopping operation of themachine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an aligning mechanism forarranging a plurality of adjacent paper webs in proper alignedrelationship in a manner that the paper webs can pass through thealigning mechanism in a vertical movement and thereafter are folded intoan accordion type folded pack in a horizontal direction.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved aligning,creasing and folding machine for assembling a plurality of paper webs inadjacent relationship so that the operation of the machine will becontinuous.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a machinehaving an aligning and creasing mechanism for assembling a plurality ofpaper webs that directs the movement of the web through the machine in avertical arrangement, and wherein the assembled and creased paper websare folded into an accordion pack upon changing the direction ofmovement of the webs through the machine from vertical to horizontal sothat the machine can operate continuously and portions of the foldedpack can be periodically removed from the machine without stopping thesame.

It is another object of the invention to provide an aligning, creasingand folding machine wherein the aligned and creased assembled paper websdischarge from the creasing portion of the machine in a verticalarrangement, and wherein the assembled webs are folded in accordionfashion upon the longitudinal edge of the webs by directing theassembled webs transversely of the machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide an aligning, creasingand folding machine wherein the assembled webs discharge from thecreasing apparatus of the machine in a vertical direction and thedirection of travel of the webs is then altered so that they will befolded accordion fashion upon the longitudinal edge of-the assembled weband directed forwardly from the machine so that a portion of the foldedweb stack can be removed whenever desired without stopping the machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved form ofmanifolding, collating and folding machine wherein a plurality of paperwebs are aligned and creased within one portion of the machine and arefolded within a second portion of the machine so that the folded webpack is arranged in fan-fold or accordion fashion and is discharged upona table adjacent the folding apparatus, the receiving surface of whichmoves with respect to the folding apparatus to receive the fan-foldedpack at the rate discharged from the folding apparatus.

It is another object of the invention to provide a manifolding orcollating machine adapted to receive a plurality of supply rolls ofpaper webs that are to be fed through the machine, and to providebraking mechanism to retard the rotation of thesupply rolls should thepaper webs have the tendency to discharge from the supply rolls at agreater rate than they are being used with-, in the machine.

It is another object of the invention to provide 1 a paper handlingmachine having brakes upon the supply rolls that are actuated inresponse to the rate of discharge of the paper web from the supply roll.

Another object of the invention is to provide a receiving table fora-collating and folding machine that has the surface thereof composed ofa plurality of segments carried by an endless chain or belt.

It is another object of the invention to provide a collating, creasing,aligning and folding machine wherein the assembled paper Webs aredischarged from the creasing and aligning apparatus of the machine in avertical direction, the direction of the webs then being altered fortransfer through a folding apparatus, and an adjusting mechanism beingprovided between the creasing and aligning apparatus and the foldingapparatus to centralize the position of the paper webs within thefolding apparatus whenever the width of the paper webs being fed throughthe machine is changed.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the drawingsand the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus that comprises thecollating, aligning and creasing portion of the machine of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the machine. 1 I

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view of the folding apparatus for themachine taken along line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is'a plan cross-sectional view of the folding apparatus takenalong line 4-4 of Figure 3; I

Figure 5'is a plan elevational view of the machine of this inventionwith the aligning and creasing apparatus removed to more clearly showthe paper feeding mechanism and the location of the means for changingthe direction of movement of the paper web through the machine.

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the folding apparatusshowing the manner in which a portion of the folded web stack can beremoved from the apparatus.

Figure '7 is a side elevational view of the machine showing the brakingmechanism applied to the paper web supply rolls.

Figure 8 is a perspective elevational view of the braking mechanismshown in Figure '7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged elevational view of the braking mechanism shownin Figure 7 to more clearly illustrate the parts thereof.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the device for actuating thebrake shoe of the braking mechanism taken along line Ill-l0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a side elevational view of a modified form of the machineofthis invention showing the folded pack being removed from theapparatus by means of a moving table.

Figure 12 is a front elevational view of a portion of the machine shownin Figure 11 with the folded web pack broken away to, illustrate thefolding apparatus.

Figure 13 is a plan view of the table for receiving the folded Web pack.

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of the table taken along line l4-l4of Figure 13 showing the position of the segments of the table whensupporting the web pack.

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the table similar to that ofFigure 14 but showing the segments of the table in position whendisposed beneath the supporting plane for the web pack.

Figure 16 is a perspective elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic inform, to more clearly illustrate the apparatus for changing thedirection of movement of the paperwebs into the folding apparatus of themachine of Figures 11 and 12.

vided transversely in the webs to crease the same at the perforationline and simultaneously align adjacent webs so that form faces printedupon the adjacent webs will be placed in juxtaposition.

The assembled webs B leave the aligning and creasing mechanism to enterthe folding apparatus shown specifically in Figures 3 and 4. The web Bis altered in its direction of travel between the discharge point of thecreasing and aligning mechanism L and the entrance point of the foldingapparatus M so that the discharge of the web from the folding apparatuswill be horizontal with respect to the machine and either transverselythereof or forwardly thereof. Since the folded web stack is directedeither transversely or forwardly of the machine, so that the stack canbe supported by a suitable horizontal table that can be of any length,the machine can operate continuously and the folded web stack can beremoved periodically from the machine without requiring that the machineshall be stopped during the unloading operation of the folded web stack.

Referring particularly to Figures 2 and 5, the feeding, aligning andcreasing mechanism is disposed within a frame I. An electric motor H iscarried by the frame 10 and has a cone pulley l3 carried upon the shaftthereof adapted to drive a cone pulley I4 by means of a belt IS. A beltl6 extends between the cone pulley l4 and the cone pulley I! supportedupon a shaft I8 having a flat or V-pulley l9 thereon that has the belt20 extending over a drive pulley 2| carried upon a drive shaft 22.

Endless chains 23 engage sprockets 24 carried upon the drive shaft 22and extend over sprockets 25 secured to the shaft 26. As shown in Figur1, the endless chains 23 and 23a are disposed adjacent one another sothat the assembled web B can In this invention the collating, aligningand creasing mechanism of the machine, illustrated diagrammatically inFigure 1, consists of a plurality of paper web supply rolls A having thepaper webs B carried therefrom over guide rolls C. The paper webs Bextend from the guide rolls C to the guide rolls D disposed above thefeed or gripper rolls E and F. The gripper rolls E and F withdraw thepaper webs B fro-m the sup-ply rolls and feed the samedownwardly to forma web loop G, the upper end of which extends over a guide roll H thattransversely aligns the webs with respect to one another. The webs Bthen pass over the rolls J to separate the adjacent webs to supply airtherebetween for a purpose to be hereinafter described. v

The assembled webs then pass through a slack producing mechanism K fromwhich the assembled webs B pass to an aligning and creasing mechanism L.The aligning and creasing mechanism L is adapted to engage the assembledwebs transversely thereof at perforation lines pr be fed therebetween.Aligning and creasing blades 21 are carried by the endless chains 23 and23a. and are adapted to cooperate with spaced rollers 28, also carriedby the endless chains 23 and 23a, to crease and align the paper webswhen the aligning and creasing blades 21 extend between the rollers 28as shown in the diagrammatic view of the aligning and creasing mechanismL.

The paper webs B are fed to the aligning and creasing mechanism throughthe slack producing mechanism K that is driven from a sprocket 29secured upon the shaft 26 and an endless chain 30 extending over asprocket 3| carried upon the end of the shaft 32 for the feed roll 33 ofthe slack producing mechanism K.

Th feed or gripper rolls E and F are knurled or serrated to grip theplurality of paper webs B to withdraw the webs from the supply rolls A.The feed roll E is driven by means of a, friction drivemechanism-consisting of a friction disc 34 secured upon the shaft 35 forthe feed roll E and a friction wheel 36 carried upon a drive shaft 31that extends from a gear reduction box 38 driven by a shaft 39 having asprocket 40 in engagement with the endless chain 4| driven by a sprocket42 carried upon the drive shaft 22. The friction wheel 36 is carried bya control mechanism 43 that changes the radial position of the frictionwheel upon the face of the friction disc 34 so that the speedof'the-friction disc 34 can be changed and thus vary the rate at whichthe paper webs are withdrawn from the feed rolls A by means of the feedor gripper rolls E and F. This apparatus'is constructed and arranged sothat the feed rolls normally supply slightly less than the actualquantity of material being moved through the aligning and creasingmechanism L so that the web loop G gradually shortens. The length of theweb loop G changes the setting of the controlmechanism 43 so that itwill increase the rate of withdrawal of the paper web from the feedrolls A when the web loop G has decreased in length a predeterminedamount. Therefore, the rate of feed of the paper webs through the feedrolls E and F is automatically regulated to maintain the web loop G at apredetermined length.

The mechanism thus far described is adapted to withdraw paper webs fromthe supply rolls A, the paper webs being perforated at regular intervalstransversely thereof, or provided with a line of weakness transverselythereof so that they will fold or crease more readily at predeterminedspaced points along the length of the web. These prepared webs are drawnthrough the feed rolls and supplied to the slack producing mechanism K.When the creasing and aligning blades 21 of the creasing and aligningmechanism L are about to engage a pair of cooperating rollers 28 tocrease the paper webs therebetween, there is required a certain amountof slack in the paper web between the'creasing and aligning mechanism Land the slack rolls E because at this instant there is required anincreased length of paper web to absorb the movement of the web in thecreasing operation. The slack roll 33 is provided with a recess thereinthat is adapted to be adjacent the opposing slack roll at the instantthe aligning and creasing blade 21 enters the space between cooperatingrollers 28 so that the paper web above the creasing and aligningmechanism L can move more rapidly with respect to the slack producingmechanism K. The weight of the web above the creasing and aligningmechanism L will cause a whipping action in the 'web to cause movementbetween adjacent paper webs and thus align the same across the edge ofthe aligning blades 21 to place adjacent form faces in juxtaposition.The assembled paper web, upon leaving the creasing and aligningmechanism L is ready to be folded into a fan-fold or accordian type ofpack.

As shown in Figure 2, the creased and aligned webs B leave-the creasingand aligning mechanism L in a downward vertical direction. In order toprovide for continuous operation of the machine it is then necessary toalter the course of movement of the assembled webs B so that they can befolded by the folding apparatus M and be discharged in a manner thattheir discharge will not be obstructed, whereby any length of web can becontinuously folded by the foldingapparatus M and be dischargedtherefrom continuously or be removed in predetermined lengths withoutstopping the operation of the creasing and aligning portion of themachine. 7

As shown in Figure 2, the assembled webs B extend around a roller or rod44 that is disposed upon an angle of 45 with respect to a transverseline of the paper web B, whereby the paper web B will be caused to turnat right angles and be discharged from the machine in a horizontaldirection for entry into the folding apparatus M disposed adjacent aside of the frame ill of the machine.

The folding apparatus (see Figures 3 and 4) consists of a frame 45having a pair of shafts 46 and 41 supported therein adapted to carry therollers 48 and 49 respectively. The assembled paper webs B enter thefolding apparatus M between the rollers 48 and 49 that are retained infrictional engagement with the assembled webs B l webs B from passingbetween the wheels 54, 55

by means of the spring 50, that continuously urges the arms in oppositedirection, and thus urges the rollers 48 and 49 into adjacentrelationship. A pair of shafts 52 and 53 are disposed within the frameIii, and carry wheels 54 and 55 respectively, that have endless belts 56and 1 51 respectively extending betweenthe wheels 54 and 55 and therollers 48 and-49 respectively. The endless belts 56 and 51 prevent theassembled and 48, 49.

The wheels 54, 55 are semi-cylindrical in con- I tour, or half-moonshaped, and are positioned with respect to the web pack being foldedtherebeneath that the surface of the wheels 54 and 55 engages the foldline in the assembled webs B to iron the same smoothly against the webpack the wheels 54 and 55 are adjustable with respect 10 secured to theend thereof.

to one another so that they can be spaced further apart or closertogether than shown in the drawings. The shafts 52 and 53 of the wheels54 and are carried in blocks and N that ride in slots 62 and 6212respectively provided in the frame 45. Suitable means is provided forsecuring the blocks in position upon the frame 45.

To maintain edge alignment of the folded assem'bled webs B the plates 63are provided adjacent opposite folded edges of the web pack. Theseplates are carried upon pins 64 and are pivoted thereto so that thefingers 65, extending between the wheels 54 and 55, may constantlyengage the folded edges of the web pack. Springs 66 oppose outwardmovement of the aligning plates 63. and inward movement of the plates isprevented by means bf a stop 61 engaged by a pin 58 carried by thealigning plates 63.

The folding apparatus M is positioned adjacent one side of the frame [0ofthe machine as shown in Figures 2 and 6. The folding apparatus issupported upon a bracket 59 secured to the frame It] in a manner thatthe assembled webs B will enter thefolding apparatus with the edge ofthe assembled webs extending vertically. The shaft 41 of the foldingapparatus extends beyond the gear trains provided on one face of theframe of the folding apparatus and has a beveled gear The beveled gearHiengages a similar beveled gear ll secured upon the end of the shaft 22extending transversely from the frame I 0, whereby the folding apparatusM is driven synchronously with the web aligning and creasing mechanismL.

A table 12 is disposed adjacent the folding apparatus M upon which thefolded web pack is adapted to be discharged from the folding apparatus.As shown in Figure 2, the assembled webs B leave the aligning andcreasing mechanism L in a vertical direction. The assembled webs thenpass around the angularly disposed rod 44 so that the assembled webs nowmove at right angles to the former direction of movement to enter thecondition as shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, so that the folded web packstands upon the longitudinal edge of the assembled webs. The web packdischarges from the folding apparatus in a horizontal movement that istransverse to the frame I of the machine. By discharging the folded packin this manner upon the horizontal table I2, any length of folded webpack can be discharged from the folding apparatus without stopping themachine. Therefore, the productive capacity of the machine is greatlyincreased.

An angle plate I5 is positioned upon an edge thereof against the face ofthe folded web pack being discharged from the folding apparatus M. Theangle plate provides sufficient resistance to the movement of the webpack to retain the folds of the pack in adjacent relationship. If itshould be desired to remove a section of the folded web pack, an angleplate 13a can be positioned between the folds of the web pack at anysuitable position along the length of the pack to include as many formsas desired. A perforated edge of the web pack is then severed as shownat I5 to separate theweb pack between the angle plates I8 and 13a fromthe portion of the web pack that is discharging from the foldingapparatus M. The portion of the web pack between the angle plates 18 and18a can now be removed from adjacent relationship with respect to thefolding apparatus M. This operation can be performed without stoppingthe operation of the machine which will therefore continuously align,crease and fold the assembled webs B. Such an arrangement is desirablebecause each time the machine is stopped to remove the folded webs, inpacks of desiredsize, a certain production capacity is lost. Alsostarting and stopping of the machine often causes the webs to break andrequiring that the webs shall be re-threaded through the machine, againlosing production capacity. If the operation of the aligning, creasingand folding mechanism can be maintained continuously, these troubles areeliminated.

The supply rolls A" ar supported upon shafts 18 that are positionedwithin slots I'I provided in arms '18 extending from the frame I0. Abrake wheel I9 is secured upon the end of each of the shafts 18.. Abrake shoe 80 iscarried upon a U-shaped strap member 8| and is disposedadjacent the brake wheel 18. One end of the U- strap 8| extends througha slot 82 in a pin 88 the speed of rotation of the supply roll A. Thisoperation will occur at any time during which the machine is inoperation. However, this operation particularly valuable whenever themachine is stopped because the supply rolls A obtain a certain amount ofmomentum when the ma-' chine is operating that will permit the rolls Ato coast after the feeding mechanism for the web has stopped operation,whereby considerable length of the web B will rest loosely within themachine. This is not a desirable condition when restarting the machine.Therefore, the operation of the brake when the machine is stopped,prevents the loose length of web within the machine at this time.

In Figures 11 to 16 there is shown an arrangement wherein the assembledwebs'B are changed in their direction-of movement froma position of themachine and directed forwardly thereof secured to the arm 18 and isfastenedto a block 84 having a set screw .85 extending therethrough intoengagement with the pin 8|. end of the U-strap 8I is provided with aflange 86 disposed at right angles to the U-strap 8I and rests upon apin 81- having an eccentric shank portion 88 (see Fi ure 10) that isrotatably supported in a hole 89 provided in the arm 18.

The shank 88 has a reduced diameter portion 80 extending therefrom, thatis threaded to receive a nut 9| that engages the shoulder 82 to retainthe eccentric portion 88 within the hole 89. An arm 93 is secured uponthe reduced diameter portion 80 and has a roller 94 adapted to engagethe web B leaving the supply roll A. The web B is provided with a slackloop R therein to receive the roller 94.

If the web B should be discharged from the supply roll too rapidly, theslack loop B. would increase the-length thus permitting the arm 83 tofall and rotate the pin 81 upon the eccentric portion 88 to thereby liftthe brake shoe 80 into engagement with the brake wheel I9, thus reducingThe opposite instead of transversely as heretofore described. In thisform of the apparatus, the aligning and creasing mechanism L is the sameas heretofore described as well as all the feeding mechanism fordirecting the plurality of webs B into the aligning and creasingmechanism L. v

The assembled web's B leave the aligning and creasing mechanism L in adownward direction and pass over a roller I00 disposed at an angle of 45transversely of the assembled webs B so that the webs will move at aright angle to their former direction of movement. The assembled webs Bthen pass around a vertical roller IM to again change their direction ofmovement at right angles to the former movement so that the webs will bedirected forwardly with respect to the frame I0 of the machine, but withthe plane of the webs extending vertically, The assembled webs B thenenter the folding apparatus M for arranging the same into a folded webpack in the same manner as heretofore described.

The roller I00 is carried upon a frame I02 that has angle bars I08 andI04 extending therefrom into engagement with a rod I05 having a threadedportion I06 that engages a collar I01 secured to the angle bar I04, andis threaded upon the threaded ro'd I 08. The rod I05 is supported withinarms I08 secured to the frame I0 and is provided with collars I08engaging the arms I08 to frame I02 engages a guide member. Thus rotationof the rod I05 causes vertical movement of i theframe I02 to positionthe roller I00 with respect to the folding apparatus M so that theassembledwebs B passing thereover can be centered with respect to thefolding apparatus M when the-width of the webs being fed through themachine is changed.

The mechanism of the folding apparatus M is the same as heretoforedescribed but the source of power for actuating the same is derived fromthe aligning and creasing mechanism in a slightly different manner. Thedrive shaft 22 of the aligning and creasing mechanism is provided with aspur gear III that engages a spur gear H2 secured to a shaft I I3supported upon brackets I I4 secured to the frame of the foldingmechanism M. A beveled gear H5 is secured upon the shaft I I3 to engagethe beveled gear I I6 provided on the end of the shaft 41 extending fromthe folding mechanismM. A suitable cover I" encloses the gear trains forthe folding mecha nismM.

statuses The folding mechanism M is supported upon the frame II) of themachine by suitable brackets II8.

A table I20 is disposed adjacent the folding mechanism M. The tableconsists of a pair of endless chains I2I extending between sprockets I22and I23 adjacent opposite sides of the folding apparatus M and extendingforwardly thereof. A plurality of plates I24 are pivotally connectedbetween the parallel adjacent chains I2I to interconnect the same. Theseplates I24 are provided with ears I25 adjacent opposite edges thereofadapted to be secured to a hinge pin I26 of the chains I2I. The platesare 'pivotally connected at spaced intervals along the chains I2I sothat when in position as shown in Figure 14 the plates 24 will rest uponthe upper face of the upper chain, and when the plates are disposedbelow the lower portion of the chain they are positioned in a verticalarrangement as shown in Figure 15, as the endless chains pass over thesprockets I22 and I23 the plates arrange themselves in their respectivepositions as shown in Figure 11 so that when they are above the upperchain the plates provide a smooth table adapted to receive the foldedpack of webs that is being discharged from the folding apparatus M. Thesurface of the table I20 moves in the same direction of movement as thedischarge of the folded pack from the folding apparatus M due to thefrictional engagement of the pack upon the surface of the plates I24. Byallowing the table I20 to move, the bottom edges of the folded pack arenot damaged due to any sliding engagement with a table surface.

When it is desired to remove a pack of folded forms from the table I20an angle plate I21 can be inserted between adjacent folded forms and theedge severed to permit removal of a predetermined number of folded formsin the same manner as previously described.

While the surface of the table I20 is preferably moved by the frictionalengagement of the folded web forms being discharged from the foldingapparatus M to perfectly synchronize the movement of the table surfacewith the movement of the web pack, yet the sprockets I22, I23 carryingthe chains I2I can readily be connected to a suitable driving means forpower driving the surface of the table I20. The driving connection canbe made directly to the motor II for the machine or suitable powertake-01f gears can be arranged between the sprockets I2I or I23 and anyof the other rotating gears of the machine, it being necessary only toprovide a proper gear ratio between the driving means and the sprocketsto advance the table at the proper rate of speed for synchronizing themovement thereof with the discharge of the web pack from the foldingapparatus M.

While the form of the apparatus disclosed here- I 1. A machine forfolding a plurality of paper webs into a fan-folded pack including,means for collating and feeding a plurality of paper webs into adjacentrelationship, means for creasing and aligning the adjacent webs to placeforms printed thereon in superposed relationship and creasing theplurality of webs periodically to place the creases in the webs in adetermined spaced relationship, said creasing and aligning means beingpositioned vertically to discharge the plurality of paper webs therefromin a vertical plane, means engaged by the paper webs upon discharge fromthe creasing and aligning means for changing the direction of travel ofthe webs with regard to their direction of discharge from the creasingand aligning means to position the webs in a vertical plane edgewisethereof, folding means for receiving said webs in said vertical planeposition for folding the webs on the creaselines thereof to form afan-folded pack with the crease lines extending vertically, and meansdisposed adjacent said folding means to receive the folded web asdischarged from the folding means positioned on a longitudinal edgethereof.

2. A machine for folding a plurality of paper webs into a fan-foldedpack including, means for collating and feeding a pluralityof paper websinto adjacent relationship, means for creasing and aligning the adjacentwebs to place forms printed thereon in superposed relationship andcreasing the plurality of webs periodically to place the creases in thewebs in a determined spaced relationship,-said creasing and aligningmeans being positioned vertically to discharge the plurality of paperwebs therefrom in a vertical plane, means engaged by the paper webs upondischarge from the creasing and aligning means for changing thedirection of travel of the webs 90 with regard to their direction ofdischarge from the creasing and aligning means to position the webs in avertical plane edgewise thereof and to direct the webs in a horizontaldirection for subsequent folding and stacking horizontally upon alongitudinal edge of the webs, folding means for receiving said webs insaid vertical plane position for folding the webs alternately on thecrease-lines thereof while retaining the webs vertically whereby to forma fanfolded pack having sheets thereof supported on a longitudinal edgethereof with the crease lines extending vertically, and means positionedadja v cent said folding means to receive the fan-folded pack asdischarged therefrom and support the same upon the edges of the sheets.

3. A machine for folding a plurality *of paper webs into a fan-foldedpack including, means for collating and feeding a plurality of paperwebs into adjacent relationship, means for creasing and aligning theadjacent Webs to place forms printed thereon in superposed relationshipand creasing the plurality of webs periodically to place the creases inthe webs in a determined spaced relationship, said creasing and aligningmeans being positioned vertically to discharge the plurality of paperwebs therefrom in a vertical plane, means engaged by the paper webs upondischarge from the creasing and aligning means for changing thedirection of travel of the webs 90 with regard to their direction ofdischarge from the creasing and aligning means to position the webs in avertical plane edgewise thereof, folding means for receiving said websin said vertical plane position for folding the webs alternately on thenow vertical crease-lines thereof while retaining the plane of the websvertically whereby to form an edge supported fan-folded pack havingsheets thereof disposed in vertical planes with the crease linespositioned vertically. and a movable horizontal table means disposedadjacent said folding means movable by the frictional engagement of thefan-folded pack spaced relationship, said creasing and aligning meansbeing positioned'vertically to discharge the plurality ofpaper-webstherefrom in a vertical plane, means engaged by the paper websupon discharge from the creasing and aligning means for changing thedirection of travel of the webs 90 with regard to their directionofdischarge from the creasing and aligning means to' position the webs ina vertical plane edgewise thereof, folding means for receiving said websin said vertical plane position for folding the webs alternately on thenow vertical crease-lines thereof while retaining the plane of the websvertically wherebyto form an edge supported fanfolded pack havingsheets-thereof disposed in vertical planes withthe'crease linesextending vertically, and a movable horizontal table means disposedadjacent said folding means consisting of a pair 'of endless beltshaving horizontally disposed sections extending therebetween forsupporting the fan-folded pack as discharged from the folding means andmovable therewith as discharged to prevent movement between thefanfolded pack and the table to thereby eliminate frictional movement ofthe pack over the table that would damage the edges of the pack.

CLAYTON E. WYRICK.

